Portuguese club Benfica have sent promising young United States international Freddy Adu on loan to French club Monaco for the 2008-09 season.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder struggled to earn a regular place in his first season with Benfica, and has been told that he is not part of new coach Quique Flores’ plans for the upcoming campaign.

Monaco, who finished 12th in the French league, will have the option to buy the Ghana-born player at the end of his loan.

Adu, who has scored five times in 21 appearances for Benfica despite starting only two matches, may miss the start of the principality club’s season as he will be part of the U.S. squad for next month’s Olympic Games in China.

Benfica, who confirmed Adu’s move on their Web site, have recently signed Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar from relegated Spanish club Real Zaragoza.

Flores is the club’s fourth coach in the past year, and takes over the ailing 31-time Portuguese champions after a season in which they finished fifth and failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Adu moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of eight and at 14 became the youngest player ever to sign a professional Major League Soccer contract.

He started his MLS career with Washington-based D.C. United in 2004, being twice selected in the All-Star lineup, and was traded to Real Salt Lake in December 2006 before leaving six months later to join Benfica.

Adu made his senior U.S. debut in November 2007, and helped the Under-23 team qualify for Beijing with two goals in the qualifying semifinal victory against Canada which put his country through along with Honduras.
From: rss.cnn.com

From: french.about.com

You can make these cheesy crockpot scalloped potatoes dairy-free and vegan by substituting a vegan cream cheese, such as Tofutti, for the regular cream cheese. Potatoes are a great vegetarian side dish to make in your crock pot or slow cooker.Ingredients:1/2 onion, diced2 cloves garlic, minced1 tbsp parsley1 tsp saltpepper to taste7-8 potatoes, sliced thin8 oz cream cheese (use Tofutti if vegan)Preparation: Lightly grease a crock pot.

In a small bowl, combine the onion, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Place a layer of the sliced potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle with some of the onion and garlic mix. Top with 1/3 of the cream cheese.

Continue layering potatoes, spices and cream cheese. Sprinkle the top with additional salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are done cooking.

More Easy Vegetarian Crock Pot Recipes:
Vegetarian Crock Pot Chili
Indian Vegetable Curry
Split Pea Soup
One Pot Rice and Veggie Pilaf
Very Veggie Crock Pot Chili
Crock Pot Sweet Potatoes
Mexican Refried Beans
Crock Pot Lentil Soup
Barbecue Tofu
Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Tofu and Spinach Vegan Lasagna
Easy Crock Pot Spanish Rice
Vegetarian Barley Chili
Quick Crock Pot Apple Cobbler
Sweet Pineapple Baked Beans
Easy Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole
Hot and Spicy Artichoke Dip
Easy Crock Pot Potatoes with Cheese
Crock Pot Spinach Casserole
Easy Cheesy Bean Dip
Curried Rice and Lentils
Cheesey Scalloped Potatoes
Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans
Crock Pot Rice Pudding

From: vegetarian.about.com

NEW YORK(CNNMoney.com) — Stock futures climbed Monday morning as investors cheered better-than-expected earnings from Bank of America and the announcement of a deal between Yahoo and activist investor Carl Icahn.

At 8:23 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher and suggesting a robust start for Wall Street.

Stocks ended a volatile session mixed Friday, with blue chips getting a boost but tech shares faltering.

Financials: Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said net income fell 41% to $3.4 billion, or 72 cents a share, on revenue of $20.32 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected the company to earn 53 cents a share on revenue of $18.37 billion.

Results in the financial sector have been mixed so far this reporting period. Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) both posted solid results last week, while Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) posted a hefty loss.

Yahoo-Icahn: In the tech sector, Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) said Icahn would join its board. The deal ends a proxy battle that threatened to throw the Internet firm into deeper uncertainty.

Drugs: Biotech Genentech (DNA) is likely to move after Roche Holding said Monday it was offering $43.7 billion to buy the 44% of the company that it does not already own.

Drugmakers Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) and Schering-Plough (SGP, Fortune 500) pushed back their earnings reports until after the market close. The companies said they first wanted investors to see the results of a study of combo cholesterol medicine Vytorin, to be released Monday.

Analysts expect to Merck to report earnings of 83 cents per share on revenue of $6.05 billion and Schering-Plough to report earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $10.31 billion, according to Thomson Financial polls.

Apple: The iPod maker posts results after the market close. Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) earnings will be closely watched after tech heavyweights Google and Microsoft both reported results last week that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

Economy: A report on leading economic indicators is due at 10 a.m. ET. Economists fear the LEI may have turned negative due to lower consumer spending, according to a Thomson Financial poll. Negative LEI would mean a decrease in the U.S.’s economic growth rate.

Energy: Oil prices rebounded after last week’s slide, climbing over $130 a barrel in electronic trading over concerns that little progress was made with Iran after weekend diplomatic talks.

Other markets: Most stocks in Asia finished the session higher. Japan markets were closed for a public holiday. European markets fell in early trading. First Published: July 21, 2008: 5:18 AM EDT

Monday July 21, 2008 With its mild flavor and delicate, creamy texture, you’d think tilapia would get more love from the foodie world. Instead, the culinary illuminati tend to turn their noses up at it. Why? The conventional wisdom seems to be that it’s just dull. But to paraphrase the Czech novelist Milan Kundera: There are no dull fish, only dull recipes.
Sautéed Tilapia: Small fish, big flavor.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro

“Dull” is one thing this tilapia dish is not. For one thing, it’s got bacon in it, so dull just went out the window. And if that weren’t enough, the dish also features caramelized red onions, capers and grape tomatoes in a tangy, buttery, lemony sauce.

Enjoy this recipe for Sautéed Tilapia with Bacon & Capers. But be forewarned: There’s so much flavor in it, your mouth might not know what to do.